Theology

The Theology Department of Jesuit Dallas seeks to challenge our students not only to academic excellence, but also to become men for others - for the greater honor and glory of God. Our goal is that every student will grow to appreciate the way Christ works in his life, and to recognize that God is often most present to us through others: our friends, our family, the poor, and all those around us. The Ignatian understanding of “Finding God in all things” promotes awareness and understanding of the Christian message in contemporary society. Each student is challenged to grow in respect and appreciation for his own faith and values, as well as the faith and values of others.

The four-year theology curriculum introduces students to the major elements of the Catholic faith and presents opportunities that lead to an interiorization of that faith. The curriculum is designed to support each student's development of a religious identity based on personal conviction and free response to God’s grace; it encourages the student toward greater love and service of God’s people.

The purpose of this course is to give students a general knowledge and appreciation of the Sacred Scriptures. Through their study of the Bible they will come to encounter the living Word of God, Jesus Christ.

Who Is Jesus Christ? The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the mystery of Jesus Christ, the living Word of God, and the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.

The purpose of this course is to lead the students towards a deeper understanding of redemption and Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s promise of redemption. The course explores the how the suffering, death, resurrection and ascension of Christ made redemption possible. A Christology course, which looks at how Jesus the Christ is present in our lives and Church, particularly in the form of the Paschal Mystery.

Jesus Christ’s Mission Continues in the Church.

The purpose of this course is to help the students understand that in and through the Church they encounter the living Jesus Christ. The course explores the origin, the human and divine elements and ongoing mission of the Church.*

* Woven throughout will be the Ignatian understanding of Jesus as companion as experienced in the Spiritual Exercises.

Description: “What Does It Mean To Live In the Image of God?” Is the overarching question for students to consider in this course.

Sacraments: The purpose of this part of the course is to help students understand the sacramental nature of the church. Through the Church and its sacraments students will understand that they can encounter Christ today in a real way, especially through the Eucharist. Students will examine each of the sacraments in detail so as to learn how they may encounter Christ thus participating in a full sacramental life.

Morality / Justice: The student is assisted in achieving a better awareness and understanding of the nature and meaning of Christian morality, particularly within a Catholic Christian context, in order to assist him in making better and wiser moral judgments. The intention of this section of the course is to help the student to live his convictions through thought and action. Emphasis is placed on those tools necessary to make moral decisions. Building upon the student’s background in morality, the young adult is exposed to the complexities of global economic and social systems. This course provides a Christian framework for a response by introducing the Catholic Church’s call to social justice. In particular, students aim to find hope and purpose in the call to action through the traditions of the social encyclicals and Catholic Social Teaching.

Description: The emphasis in this course is to pursue the meaning of the commandment "love one another" and to more fully understand the theological belief that "God is Love." Our humanness, centered on our call to love as Christ loved, is understood through our relationship to self, to others and to God. Main topics examined in this course include: self-awareness and understandings needed for human growth and maturity; recognition and exploration of the ways in which humanity may need to achieve that self-awareness and understanding, in order to live in the world as called by the Catholic Church; friendship and the physical, psychological and social differences in being male or female in a relationship, as well as the societal structures which help and hinder those differences; forms and functions of love and the totality of human sexuality as a way of being fully human in this world; the ideal and viability of the family in contemporary society; vocations as the envisioned experience of Catholic Church for living in the world and working towards building the Kingdom of God. The units that explore these themes are: The Self, Friendship, Love and Sexuality, Family, “Father”.This class meets three times week. Semester 2 only.

Description: “In our contemporary globalized world, where technology, environmental and other concerns challenge traditional boundaries, the Society’s mission of faith and justice and of dialogue of religions and cultures gives new meaning to the frontiers of knowledge and human encounter.” “All men and women are our concern for dialogue and for proclamation... to discover Jesus Christ where we have not noticed him before and to reveal him where he has not been seen before” (GC of the Society of Jesus).

The purpose of this course is to help the students understand the manner in which the Catholic Church relates to non-Catholic Christians as well as to other religions of the world. The course is intended to help students to recognize the ways in which important spiritual truths can also be found in non-Catholic Christian churches and ecclesial communities as well as in non-Christian religions.

This class meets three times week. Semester 2 only.

Summer Description: The purpose of this course is to augment classroom learning with immersion & experiential learning through visits to religious sites and direct dialogue with members of different religions throughout our own communities. Combining traditional classroom study with experiential site visits will help the students understand the manner in which the Catholic Church relates to non-Catholic Christians as well as to other religions of the world. The course is intended to help students recognize the ways in which important spiritual truths can also be found in non-Catholic Christian churches and ecclesial communities as well as in non-Christian religions.

Description: The purpose of this course is to supply the students with a general knowledge of the Church’s history from apostolic times to the present. In this course, students will learn about the Church’s 2,000 years of history and about how the Church is led and governed by the successors of the Apostles as well as the impact of the Church on the world today.

The purpose of this course is to advance students’ study of social justice and Catholic Social Teaching (CST) with a particular focus on the Environment. Students are to learn how Christ’s concern for others, is reflected in caring for God’s creation, the benefits and detriments impact on humanity, in particular the poor and needy, is present today in the Church’s social teaching and mission. This class meets three days a week. Semester 1 only.

This course is intended to advance students’ study of social justice and Catholic Social Teaching (CST), with particular focus on the themes of Peace (making) and Conflict. Students will orient their examination in the person of Jesus Christ and his call to peace and justice in the Gospels. Students will explore how this message of social justice is advanced through the Catholic Church’s history, social thought, and doctrine. The course will guide students into an informed and thoughtful examination of historical and current events marking episodes of war and conflict and engage the learner in considering the just social and economic conditions that may help prevent and reconcile the effects of war and conflict in our world.This class meets three days a week. Semester 1 only.

Credit: 0.50 Prerequisites: Senior status Description: "As followers of Jesus Christ and participants in a powerful economy, Catholics in the United States are called to work for greater economic justice in the face of persistent poverty, growing income-gaps, and increasing discussion of economic issues in the United States and around the world." United States Conferences of Catholic Bishops, 1996 This one semester senior elective provides an introduction to the main principles of Catholic Social Teachings (CST). It attempts to explore through discussion the official teaching of the church and historical trends that have shaped CST. The central focus will be on issues concerning economic justice, with a particular focus on the Church's teaching concerning the "preferential option for the poor." In a statement published by the USCCB in 1996, they suggest that the moral measure for a healthy economy depends primarily on how its poor are faring. It is in that spirit that this course will challenge students to evaluate economic success through a communal lens with concern for the mutual well-being of all members of society. This class meets three days a week. Semester 1 only.

Booklist

Jesuit will provide digital copies of some books for Scripture and Jesus and Mission and Church, hard copies of these books are optional. Students are responsible for obtaining all other texts.

Text: The Bible: The Living Word of God PublisherAuthor(s): RabeISBN: 9780884899068Notes: Jesuit will provide a digital copy of this text. Paperback copies are not required but may be purchased if a student would like a physical copy in addition to the digital copy.

Text: Man’s Search for MeaningAuthor(s): Frankl, Kushner, Winslade ISBN: 9780807014295Notes: Students must obtain a paperback copy of this book

Text: Tattoos on the HeartAuthor(s): BoyleISBN: 9781439153154Notes: Students must obtain a paperback copy of this book

Text: The Paschal Mystery: Christ’s Mission of SalvationAuthor(s): Singer-TownsISBN: 9781599820583Notes: Jesuit will provide a digital copy of this text. Paperback copies are not required but may be purchased if a student would like a physical text in addition to the digital copy.